Thompson thinks Packers fine as they are

Many of you may have read Tom Silverstein’s article this morning over at jsonline. I think Silverstein wrote it to highlight one major point: that it’s interesting that TT would be so confident in a team that just finished 6-10. I think it’s interesting too. I badly want to believe TT is right about this, that it was a combination of just a few factors that led us to 7 losses by 4 points or less, that he’s right about draft first/free agency second and that he knows what he’s doing. But I’m not so sure. In the article, TT goes on to express confidence in his starting group (whoever they may be now). I disagree here. Right now, I am not necessarily scared by our starting group. Off the top of my head, I can think of 9 starting positions (give or take) that are at least questionable : RT, LT b/c Clifton sucks, at least one guard spot, 2 of 3 D-Line positions, 3-4 of the LB positions due to Hawk’s poor play, Barnett’s injury and unknowns at the other OLB spots, and one of the safety spots.

I know he wouldn’t publicly point out positional weaknesses in an article like this and he wants his team to believe he believes in them. And I hope we can fill some holes through the draft. But a part of me does worry that he actually believes we are set with most of our starters and it’s more a matter of just playing better. I will continue to be suspect of TT’s over-reliance on the draft until we have 2-3 winning seasons in a row.

7 Responses to “Thompson thinks Packers fine as they are”

I like Ted the Scout and Ted the Talent Evaluator, but Ted the GM and Ted the Leader are keeping this team in perennial 6-10/7-9 land. Barring some shocking turn of events, does anyone see the Packers doing better than 9-7 (best case scenario) in 2009?

Micheal Lombardi says, “TT is not doing his job.” I finally agree with him on something. Injury update says Jenkins not on schedule with biceps injury. Harrell is down to 12 bags of jelly bellies for lunch. Clifton is on schedule with minor knee surgery (minor knee surgery at 30+ sounds like an oxymoron to me). Barnett ahead of schedule (he better be playing the inside in the 3-4). Bruno Giapet (on schedule). And the Packers resign Montgomery – Oh fricking joy!

“We’re in a stage with our team that we’re not going to have the luxury of having tons of room under the cap. We’re at a stage where we have to start bringing our contracts up for some of the guys who are going to be ‘graduating.'”

i.e.- I drafted so well that the Packers have a TON of really good players coming off their rookie contracts that need to get PAID. Thompson obviously believes these players are better then what is available in free agency and for each player you sign in free agency you are essentially saying goodbye to one or two of the ‘graduating’ players becuase you almost always have to slightly over-pay in FA. I am guessing he has essentially allocated a certain $ figure to key ‘graduating’ players he thinks he will want to extend. It eats into that $29 million of available cap room pretty quick. He is essentially making the decision that the talent he has on the team is more worthy of the cap allocation then guys available in free agency at the current FA market prices. Whether that determination is grounded in ego or good/bad talent evaluation remains to be seen.

Jennings and Collins (with some reservations) are the only two coming up that should be considered for early contracts. The rest are average to below average players that haven’t proved they’re worth a damn thing. College actually play a full year as a starter before you are considered for a contract extension. Moll and Spitz give me a break.

“A good general manager must use all avenues for improvement. Ron Wolf always did”
This is a quote from Micheal Lombardi and couldn’t be more true. Until we start exploring free agency and signing some players, we will be stuck in this state of mediocrity. Building through the draft is fine if you have the playmakers and veterans already in place, but when you need immediate impact like we do now this is inexcusable.

“The rest are average to below average players that haven’t proved they’re worth a damn thing.”

I guess I am just not as down on the roster as you are Ron. Pickett, Jolly, Bigby, Kampman, Chillar, and Colledge all MAY be worth a contract extension come mid-season if they do perform well. I am not saying you don’t partake in FA but to just dimiss a possible extension for all these guys seems pre-mature. You have to leave some room availible to extend at least a few of these guys IF needed. What if Kampman just thrives in the 3-4? You’ll sure want the space to extend him a few years. Same will Colledge who I think could become an above average starter this year. You also need to look in locking in Williams if needed to replace Harris/Woodson down the road.

Again, it comes down to how you view the roster. IF you think it is a big pile of steamy cr-p then of course you partake in FA to replace guys. But, if you think there are 3-4 guys on the roster that will thrive and need to be extended then you have to be fairly conservative in FA given how many guys are set to ‘graduate’ after next season.

I will say that I am glad I am not a GM on an NFL team. Way too many things to juggle for my feeble mind. That being said, I also wish TT was not a GM in the NFL— for the same reason.

Now, I certainly hope he proves me wrong and I’ll be the first to jump on his wagon. In order to do that I’m going to need to see 2-3 years (in other words consistency) of winning, NFC North Championships, & making the playoffs. From what I saw last year we are headed for more years of mediocrity. I’m just not willing to wait another 30 years to get back to the Super Bowl.